USA TODAY US Edition

KANSAS FRESHMEN SENT PACKING

- Gary Mihoces

With one Kansas freshman sensation again out with injury and another having a very off day, No. 10-seeded Stanford beat the No. 2 Jayhawks 60-57 on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008.

Joel Embiid, 7-foot freshman center for Kansas, missed his sixth consecutiv­e game with a stress fracture in his lower back. He again watched from the bench in a warmup suit.

Forward Andrew Wiggins, a 6-8 freshman, came in averaging 17.4 points a game. Along with Embiid (and Duke’s Jabari Parker, who also is out of the tournament), he’s in the discussion as one of the top three picks in the 2014 NBA draft. But he finished the game with four points and four turnovers.

“They’re long. We don’t go against very many teams that are bigger than us,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of Stanford. “So they bothered (Wiggins) with length, and I think that he had an off game. Give them credit for that, but certainly he put himself in position to make some plays and didn’t make them.”

Self was asked what advice he would give Wiggins going forward.

“Unfortunat­ely, I expect to be here, but I don’t know if he’ll be with me,” said Self, hinting at the expected one-and-done jump to the NBA. “Everything is a learning experience for young kids, and this isn’t the worst thing that’s going to happen to him in his life. If it is, he’s had a charmed life. ... But the kid’s had a remarkable season. ... I’m sad for him that it wasn’t our day or his day today.”

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